God’s Promises and America’s Friends
I am unaware of how wide-spread or how circulated it has gone in the news or on social media, but I recently read an article that explained how certain representatives have used threatening language in a letter, warning the nation of Israel off of plans to extend their sovereignty over the Jordan Valley. The article makes several points this obnoxious letter ignores. The letter threatens to add certain conditions to the aid regularly sent to Israel unless they stop their plan to “annex” this land. The conditions presented are harmful for Israel, and invent “violations” of human rights that aren’t really happening.
I will post the article below so it can be read in its entirety, but I will sum it up. For one thing, the letter totally ignores Israel’s legitimate claim to that land — they have historical and indigenous claims, plus a massive spiritual one, to boot. That was once their ancestors’ Promised Land, the land their God (and my God) gave to them based on an immovable promise they did not earn, but were given anyway. It also repeatedly assigns a motive to the state of Israel, imagining they are “annexing” land they took by force.
They conveniently ignore the fact that Israel (our ally for decades, by the way) defended herself from an army of wicked leaders who meant for her total destruction. That is how that land was taken, not by force, but by a desperate, miraculous victory. Forgetting history and apathy towards the plights of Jewish people only ever leads to disaster and horror. One of the greatest failures of the 20th century, of human history, happened in Nazi Germany because too many didn’t care.
I am also not fully aware of the full details of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis, but I know one thing. The leaders of the Palestinian people are the ones who are abusing them, not the country of Israel. They are lying to their people, indoctrinating their children, and turning them into murderous monsters without any choice in the matter. They reject any and all plans for peace and independence. They are taking land that isn’t theirs by force.
Not the Palestinian people, but their leaders (I want to be clear) — why aren’t they receiving a warning? Why hold one nation to standards no one else has to hold to? There may be much to be said and a great deal of debate and negotiations, but threatening these people is so far from the right answer. Imagining Israel as a conquering force trying to somehow violate human rights is even more absurd. They are surrounded by nations who trample the rights of their people, but Israel itself shines as a beacon of human decency and freedom in a region mired in unrest and pain.
These so-called “conditions” may even do huge damage to American and Israeli interests, economies, and alliances alike. These certain representatives are reacting emotionally and politically, and forgetting how to treat our friends. We aren’t talking about China or Russia, or North Korea or the various regimes America regularly tussles with — we’re talking about our friends, our allies since 1948! That’s almost 80 years! Shouldn’t that earn at least some honor and kindness in the words we send their way, especially when those words come from representatives of America? Instead, some of our own leaders treat them like a problem at best. It is honestly disgraceful and profoundly wrong.
Israel is regularly held to an impossible standard, and is surrounded by nations with leaders who want them dead. That ancestral land is full of bloodshed and complexity and history. It is renowned for enormous victories and heart-wrenching defeats. There is just as much light and darkness there as there is anywhere on earth. These aggressive American representative treat our country’s ally as a trouble-stirring aggressor, rather than a country formed in response to outrageous evil.
I will never allow myself to forget the unspeakable, demonic evil that meant to wipe out the Jews of Europe. I’d like to remind anyone who means for Israel’s harm, economic or otherwise what has happened to every nation that has sought their harm specifically. Even the nations God allowed to discipline them were judged severely. Even when some Jewish people persecuted their own because of Jesus in the Roman Empire, that nation eventually did what all the nations and peoples who waged violence and evil against the people of God — they fell. Hard.
Nations of Canaan? Gone (some are totally lost to history because of how badly they were repeatedly beaten, even in seasons of sin and idolatry.)
Haman? Hung. Also his actions actually lead to the creation of a new Jewish holiday and a massive victory that struck fear into the hearts of evil people. He got beat by a brave and beautiful Jewish queen, who defended her people against him with a few well-planned dinners and a dramatic reveal. Embarrassing.
Babylon? Dust. They may have used to discipline Judah, but this kingdom was merely an instrument of God — all their success was gone when He decided, not when they did.
Persia? No more. Same thing could be said of this nation.
The Seleucid Empire? No more. (they got the absolute tar kicked out of them, first).
Rome? Fallen. It took a while, and it was a lot more complex situation, but they fell too.
Hitler? Dead and gone. No Thousand-Year Reich. His “empire” went down in 12 years. Also, his plan to eradicate the Jews failed. In addition to that, many God-fearing, Jesus-loving saints gave their lives to preserve Jews across Europe.
I can keep going, but you get the point. God does not merely allow His people, even those who have still turned their hearts from Christ, to suffer without consequence for the oppressors. Sometimes it took a while, and sometimes there were other factors and other kinds of oppression — but God always judges those who spill the blood of His chosen ones, and He is never nice about it.
As a Christian, I know that Judaism as an ideology, in its current state, is very much against what I believe and know about God. But it doesn’t have to be that way — and it isn’t the will of God for it to stay that way. These are the words Jesus spoke in profound mourning over His people, as he stood before Jerusalem:
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:37–39)
And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:41–44)
Jesus was fully aware of the evil and sin present across Israel, even in Jerusalem. But that same evil is present across this entire world world, and Jesus’ blood paves the way for everyone. Everyone — all of us, all of Abraham’s kids. God’s heart broke for the people of Israel in this moment. He saw their future suffering and wept out loud. His will for them has never been destruction, but restoration. I won’t stand for anyone who takes aim at them, and neither will the Lord.
This compassion is further illustrated in this stirring and shocking confession from the heart of the apostle Paul:
I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit — I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. (Romans 9:1–5)
Now, Paul does not at all ignore the fact that many of his own people had rejected their own Messiah, and that God anticipated and warned them about how their hearts would harden in ignorance, jealousy, and fear. He goes on to take about all of this in that same passage of Romans. Despite all this, Paul himself admits that in his deepest person, he mourns with Jesus for the sake of his people. The history and promise and love of God for the people of Israel is real and mysterious. It is not “more” than He loves you or me, and I won’t make any arguments outside what I see in the Bible. But it is hard to deny the powerful protections afforded to the modern country of Israel. God’s will is more than the status quo, for America, for the world, or for Israel.
Speaking of, if you are still not clear on what God’s will for all humanity is, and what it is through Israel, this is where our entire story begins…
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1–3)
God’s promises haven’t changed. While I operate under the same blessings ancient Israel rejected, I haven’t replaced them. They haven’t been forgotten, set aside, or rejected. God’s heart is for His people — for all His people, Jew and Gentile. His heart longs for all to turn back to Him and to the Messiah.
GOD IS STILL SAYING “IN YOU ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.”
If all of this isn’t enough to inspire us to long for and pray for Israel’s complete reunification, for unity and forgiveness between all the descendants of Abraham, this country has been our ally and friend for years. We have worked alongside them and protected them — often when no one else does. When they were surrounded by enemies, they were not alone.
Maybe you don’t agree with how much aid we send over, or have other concerns. All of that is something that can and should be discussed with honor and diplomacy. It is not something to be handled with vague threats, unfair sanctions, and historical ignorance. They are our friends. They have a destiny greater than they know. I have a place in that, and I hope others realize the same. I only know that God is good, and His promises never change. I only know that there are Biblical ideas that may lead us to pray with longing and mourning for the people of Israel.
Anyone who stands with darkness, distrust, and violence towards Israel should keep these things in mind:
America doesn’t forget her friends.
God doesn’t forget His Promises.
God hears His people, Jew and Gentile, when they cry out to Him.
They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him. (1 Chronicles 5:20)
